The subject matter described herein generally relates to defining and detecting relationships between nodes in a network environment. As described herein, a network, a network environment (and the like) may include but is not necessarily limited to computer networks, social networks, chemical networks, biological networks, et cetera.
A network can be considered as a collection of nodes connected via edges in some way. As a non-limiting example, an Internet based network can be defined as including nodes, such as web pages, connected via edges, for example hyperlinks connecting the web pages. As another non-limiting example, a bio-chemical network can be defined as including nodes, such as molecules, connected via edges, for example known relations (such as chemical binding or reactivity) between the nodes of the network. As yet another non-limiting example, a call network can be defined as including nodes, such as phone numbers and/or people, connected via edges, for example the presence of a contact (such as a placed call or text message sent) between the nodes in the call network.
There is a large amount of information available regarding networks. For example, there is a large amount of call information that exists regarding which users/numbers have called others within a given telecommunications network. Although the information describing the network exists, leveraging it for maximum value is often difficult, sometimes as a direct result of the large amount of information. Thus, while the information describing the relationships of nodes within the network have clear value, discovering these relationships within existing network data is often difficult.